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15 Bad Habits That Are Actually Good For Your Health

Ditch the guilt! These health "hazards" can banish fatigue, ease depression, speed weight loss and more (16 Photos)

Brenda Kearns on Sep 25, 2012 at 6:00PM

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15 Bad Habits That Are Actually Good For Your Health

Reg Birkett/hulton archive/getty images

Fidgeting and Squirming

Fidget, pace, bounce a foot, twirl your hair, fiddle with the phone cord...those small muscle movements act like exercise, burning off damaging stress hormones during tense times, says cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, M.D., author of Reverse Heart Disease Now. And research at Rochester’s Mayo Clinic suggests that people who fidget a lot increase their fat-burning metabolic rate by as much as 40 percent. The reason: Constant body movements stimulate the brain’s release hormones that boost your ability to burn stored fat for energy.

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What is your worst bad habit?